My 5000 mile service experience

This is my opinion (of course, it's a forum for discussion) but unless you experience a large range of temperatures throughout the year, the benefits of nitrogen aren't realised.

The reason for nitrogen, I'm told, is that the tire pressure will vary less as the outside temperature changes because it doesn't change its density too much with the normal range of temperatures we experience in the atmosphere. Air compromises of different elements and as we know, will expand or contract depending on temperature. Nitrogen is used in race cars because it gives a more steady tire pressure as the car race around the track (and the tires are exposed to much higher temperatures than our tires would under normal driving conditions). This allows the track team to fill up the tires without having to worry as much about the variability of temperatures (e.g. if it rained then stopped and the sun came out during the laps that the car is out there).

For us regular folks, that marketing idea came for those who didn't (can't be bothered) to check their tire pressures regularly and adjust the tire pressures in their vehicles between summer and winter (bump it up in the winter, drop it down in the summer) due to the changes in temperature.

If you live in an area where the temperature is relatively constant (I don't mean the tropics but even if it's just varied from 50 to 80 F), you're not gonna see the greatest benefit from nitrogen in the tires. In addition, with regular air, you can pump your tires at home while N2 will require a station and that's usually at a service centre (like the dealership or a tire shop).



Also, I rarely get my tire pressures set correctly. They see "Prius" and assume "Corolla" (Wth) and pump 32 PSI all around. They sometimes even write 32 in the service sheet itself. . Occasionally, I've seen them not even touch it (Because i'll set it at 40/38 and sometimes it's reset to 32 or 35/33. But I've had it left at 40/38... which, funny enough, is probably for the best in my situation. But for someone else, probably not in their best interests).

They've button down recently and I have checked and it's been reset to 35/33. So either it's a new management or they've gotten their act together.